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Five Common Pitfalls and How to Overcome Them
Transitioning isn’t always smooth sailing.
By Jackie Meyer
When I made the decision to shift from a compliance-heavy firm to an advisory-first firm focused on delivering measurable ROI, I wish I could say it was seamless. It wasn’t. This kind of transformation brings new opportunities, but it also brings challenges – some that you can anticipate, and others that take you by surprise. The key to success isn’t avoiding challenges altogether (that’s impossible); it’s learning to navigate them when they arise.
MORE: Will Your Success be Incremental or Exceptional? | Your Balanced Millionaire Journey Begins Now | How to Cultivate Holistic Wealth | Five Hard-Earned Lessons from Exiting an Accounting Firm | It’s Never Too Early to Plan Your Exit Strategy | Beyond Blocking: More Time Management Strategies | Reclaim Your Hours with Time Management and Productivity Hacks | How to Bring Core Values into Your Accounting Firm | Ten Key Guidelines for Accounting Staff | Hiring Strategies for Your Dream Team | The AI Revolution: Embracing Artificial Intelligence in Your Practice
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In this article, I want to help you understand the common pitfalls that can derail your progress and the practical steps you can take to overcome them. Whether it’s dealing with clients who are stuck in the old model, learning to price confidently or avoiding burnout, there are solutions to keep you moving forward.
READ MORE →
Kassi Rushing: Firms that Move First Will Shape Accounting’s Future | Gear Up for Growth
AI, talent development, pricing, and advisory services demand action now — even if leaders don’t have all the answers.
Sponsored by Radical Pricing by the Radical CPA, Jody Padar | See Today’s Special Offer
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Gear Up for Growth
with Jean Caragher
for CPA Trendlines
The accounting profession has no shortage of predictions about its future. But RISE2040 is designed to be something different: a future shaped by the profession itself and a practical framework for deciding what to do next.
In this episode of Gear Up for Growth, host Jean Caragher, president of Capstone Marketing, welcomes back Kassi Rushing, CEO and owner of Kassi Rushing Consulting and a member of the RISE2040 project team. Their conversation explores what the initiative reveals about the profession’s direction — and why accounting leaders cannot afford to wait for certainty before acting.
MORE Jean Caragher here | Get her best-selling handbook, The 90-Day Marketing Plan for CPA Firms, here | MORE Gear Up for Growth here
Unlike earlier vision projects built primarily through surveys, focus groups, or the perspectives of a select group of thought leaders, RISE2040 draws from conversations with thousands of professionals across 25 countries. Artificial intelligence makes it possible to synthesize that volume of input while preserving the themes, opportunities, and barriers identified by participants.
Rushing describes the initiative as “written by the profession for the profession.”
That distinction matters. As advisory groups reviewed the findings, the project team remained committed to what professionals actually said, even when reviewers wanted to introduce additional ideas.
“We had to protect the voice of the profession,” Rushing says. “We talked about being defenders of the data.”
Rule #1 of Scoping for Alignment
Plus three more basic steps.
By Jody Padar
Radical Pricing – By The Radical CPA
How often have you heard the old saying about having two ears and one mouth because listening is twice as important as talking? Hopefully, often, because it is as true as anything I’ve ever heard. Scoping is all about listening, so when you make a presentation, you’ll know what you’re talking about, and the client will know you know.
MORE by Jody Padar
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Here are four basic steps you can follow to make sure you and the client are in alignment when the time comes to start a new project or present to a potential new client:
Stop Waiting for the Perfect Time to Get Involved | ARC
Even a small volunteer commitment can deliver lasting professional and personal returns.
Sponsored by Radical Pricing by the Radical CPA, Jody Padar | See Today’s Special Offer
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Accounting ARC
With Donny Shimamoto and Byron Patrick
Center for Accounting Transformation
A single meeting changed the trajectory of Byron Patrick’s career.
Early in his career, the owner of Patrick’s firm, who was serving as chair of the Maryland Association of CPAs, invited him to come along to a meeting. Patrick found himself in a room with established leaders discussing the future of the profession.
“I was like, ‘Is it this easy? Can I just show up to this meeting every week and be in this room?’” Patrick recalls. “Because if so, y’all aren’t going to get rid of me.”
Twenty-six years later, Patrick, CPA.CITP, senior product manager for Karbon and founder and part-time educator for TB Academy, can trace much of his professional growth to that invitation.
MORE Accounting ARC: Your AI Agent Should Show Its Work | AI Isn’t Erasing Tax Careers. It’s Rewriting Them. | Accounting Internships Need an Upgrade | The CPA Career Nobody Talks About | Conference Season Exposes Accounting’s Knowledge Gap | The Feedback Mistake That Costs You Your Best People | Is Your Boss Really the Problem? | Most Accountants Are Missing This AI Shift | AI Can Fix Your Workflow—or Break It in Seconds | Efficiency Is the Wrong Goal for AI | Accounting’s Hidden Talent Risk: The Sandwich Generation | Built Fast. Sold Faster. Broken Later? The Truth About Accounting Tech | Recognize When You Need to Recharge Before You Burn Out | Valuing More Than the Balance Sheet
In this episode of Accounting ARC, Patrick and co-host Donny Shimamoto, CPA.CITP, CGMA, founder and managing director of IntrapriseTechKnowlogies LLC and the founder and inspiration architect for the Center for Accounting Transformation, make the case that involvement in state CPA societies and other professional organizations is not an extracurricular activity. It is an investment in a career, a professional network, and the future of accounting.
Twelve Firm Idiosyncracies to Beware in M&A
Plus 13 ways to screw up a merger.
By Marc Rosenberg
CPA Firm Mergers: Your Complete Guide
In the best case, mergers go smoothly.
MORE by Marc Rosenberg
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But we’re dealing with people, so sometimes things aren’t so neat. Some common pitfalls: READ MORE →